Little Lady
by DatNuttyKid
Summary: Learn the legend that was never told. The legend of a little girl who dreams of being a hero. (Set in Breath of the Wild. Mild language and somewhat mature themes.)


Footsteps disturbed the eerie silence of the mystical forest, the first sound to be heard within for perhaps centuries. A small figure broke through the heavy mist, searching for a single prize: the Master Sword.

Legend had it that the sword was hidden in this forest, awaiting the day that the hero would rise and pull it from the stone where it had been kept safe. And today, that hero had finally arrived.

Sure enough, the sword was soon within sight. Its hilt seemed to glimmer in a thin beam of sunlight shining through the leaves overhead. A hand, quivering with anxious excitement, gripped it and began to pull. Slowly, the sword moved from its stone. Triumphant, the hero held the weapon to the sky.

"Pathetic," a derisive voice called, interrupting the scene. "That's your legendary sword?"

"Shut it, Jagan! No one asked you!"

"You really think _you're_ the hero of legend?" Jagan continued anyway. "Puh-leese."

"And why can't I be?"

"Well, first of all, you're a _girl_. Everyone knows that the hero of legend is a man."

It was true. There were centuries upon centuries of tales of the legendary hero, and every single one of them was male. "So what? There's no rule that says the hero _has_ to be a man."

Jagan scoffed. "Get over yourself, Linkle." He snatched the stick she had been using as the Master Sword out of her hand.

"Hey!" Linkle cried. "Give it back!"

"What, this?" With a slight twist of the fingers, the stick snapped in half. "Oops."

"Jagan! I'm gonna tell your mom you were a jerk!"

"Don't be a tattletale!" Jagan retorted, shoving Linkle to the ground. Her arm scraped against a rock and she cried out in pain. "Oh, you gonna cry now? Yeah, like a wimp like you could ever be a hero!"

"Jagan!" an authoritative voice called. Jagan flinched and turned.

"Miss Purah!" he said, trying to feign innocence. "Linkle tripped and I was about to come get help but—"

"Go back home," Purah responded fiercely, her eyes telling Jagan he would be properly punished later. Once he was gone, Purah knelt at Linkle's side. "Are you okay?" she asked gently.

"Uh-huh," Linkle responded, wiping tears from her eyes. "It's just a scrape." She carefully stood up, dusting dirt from her green cloak. "Oh, no! My compass!"

"It's right here," Purah said, grabbing it from the ground. "Just a little dirt. No real damage."

Linkle sighed in relief as she took the compass from Purah and clutched it close to her chest. "Thank goodness." This compass had been a gift from her grandmother, shortly before she passed from illness. Although Linkle wasn't quite sure how, she was certain that the compass was also a sign of her true destiny as the hero. A small part of her wondered if perhaps the legendary Triforce of Courage was secretly what powered the small, golden device, rather than magnets as the Sheikah had taught.

As Purah and Linkle headed back through the forest to their homes in Mabe Village, hand-in-hand, Linkle meekly asked, "Purah, do you think a girl could be a hero?"

Purah laughed. "Of course. In fact, I'd be willing to say a girl could be ten times the hero a boy could be."

Linkle smiled. She definitely agreed.

…

Ten years later, Purah had left town alongside many of the Sheikah to assist the royal family in their studies of ancient Sheikah technology. Linkle, now fifteen, had been left as one of the few women in the village, but she never gave up on her dreams of heroism, despite her humble career as a Cucco keeper at the nearby ranch. So when she heard that the Knights of Hyrule were stopping by all of the villages within the kingdom seeking recruits, she immediately began training.

"Poor, sweet, delusional Linkle," Jagan taunted as he approached the ranch, where Linkle was practicing her archery. "Do you really think you can be a knight?"

"No," Linkle replied without even looking at him. Instead, she loosed another arrow from her crossbow, striking the bullseye with perfect proficiency. She grinned. "I _know_ I can be a knight."

"Please. Knights use swords, not crossbows."

"Who says I can't use a sword?"

Jagan snickered. "Considering that legendary hero you think you're gonna be someday wields a sword and I haven't seen you touch one in a decade…"

A scowl broke across Linkle's face. This comment hit home, since it was very true – she had never fully mastered her swordsmanship, which is why she focused on the crossbow instead. "What about you, Mr. Thinks-He-Can-Get-Away-With-Anything?" she hissed, whirling on Jagan. "You signing up for the knights, or are you too much of a Cucco?"

"Of course I'm signing up," Jagan replied with a nonchalant shrug, completely ignoring Linkle's rage. "I was made to be a knight."

"And I wasn't?"

"No, you weren't! It's been fifteen years, Linkle, and you still haven't figured that out?" Jagan sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Linkle, think about your grandmother. She was perfectly content being a housewife. Don't you want a content life like that?"

"Grandmother was content because she was doing what she loved," Linkle retorted. "She loved to cook and clean, but she never expected me to be the same. She always encouraged me to find what I loved to do."

"And that's fighting wars?" Jagan asked. Linkle stared sternly back, her answer clear. "Linkle, you don't even know what you're getting into. If you stay here, you could run this ranch someday. You could have a family, you know? If you go fighting, you'll just end up dead in a mud puddle somewhere, alone. Is that what you want? And, you know…" His eyes fell away from her. "If you really want some excitement in your life, you could… marry a knight, right? Wouldn't that be nice?" A tinge of hope flashed across his face as he looked back up.

Linkle continued to stare at him, an eyebrow cocked. "Oh my goddess," she said. "Are you actually asking me to marry you?"

"I, uh…" Before Jagan could come up with a response, Linkle burst into a hearty fit of laughter.

"Oh my goddess… That's rich. That's just… oh my goddess," she said as the fit died down.

Jagan was nearly red with embarrassment and anger. "Fine, then! Go join the knights and get yourself killed. What do I care?" With that, he turned on his heels and stormed away. Linkle watched him go briefly, then shrugged and returned to her target practice.

…

"Alright!" the captain bellowed. He was an intimidatingly large man in full Hylian royal guard wear with a beard that seemed to stretch farther than what could reasonably be the boundaries of his face. "I'm not here to waste time. If you think you stand a chance at being a Knight of Hyrule, then you'd better have the strength of ten Moblins. The speed of ten Lizalfos. And the smarts of ten Lynels. Do you think you're ready for this?"

"Sir, yes sir!" the recruits from Mabe Village chanted. Linkle's chant, however, came a few seconds late, catching the captain's attention. He slowly marched over to her, looking her up and down.

He cleared his throat. "Little lady… do you need some help finding your mother?" A few snickers came from the other recruits, but Linkle didn't flinch.

"No, sir," she responded. "I'm here to become a knight."

"I see." The captain walked away from her and grabbed a sword, tossing it at her. She clumsily caught it. "Then show me what you've got. Who wants to go up against her?"

"I will," Jagan volunteered quickly. The captain tossed a sword to him, which he skillfully caught. Linkle scowled at him as they moved into position to spar. "Come on, Linkle. Last chance. Run back home."

"Not happening," Linkle replied through clenched teeth. She then held her sword up and charged him. Unfortunately, a single swipe was all it took for Jagan to disarm her. Linkle stumbled and hit the ground.

"Looks like we have a winner," the captain said as the recruits laughed. Jagan shook his head as he took Linkle's sword and handed it to the captain. Linkle was left laying down, glaring daggers at the mud puddle her face landed it. Finally, she stood up and stormed away.

"Now that that little distraction's gone, let's move on to some actual business. Now—" The captain was interrupted when something struck the sword, sending it tumbling out of his hand. He turned to see Linkle holding her crossbow. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Showing you what I can really do," Linkle replied. "I'll go up against all of you at once. You with swords, me with my crossbow."

The captain cocked an eyebrow. "Alright, fine. This should be interesting."

…

Despite many attempts, Linkle still stood victorious over each of the other recruits and the captain some time later.

"Alright, little lady," the captain said through clenched teeth. "I'll admit it. You have skill."

"So I can be a knight?" she asked eagerly.

The captain looked at her, then reluctantly nodded. "Yes. Congratulations."

"No!" Jagan interjected, stepping out of line. "You can't let her be a knight. She's a _girl_. Not to mention she can't even wield a sword."

"The Knights of Hyrule need _skill_ , not _stereotypes_ ," the captain fired back. "If you don't like that, you're free to go home, recruit."

"Go on, Jagan," Linkle taunted. "Run back home." Jagan scowled, but stepped back into the line of recruits.

"You'll want to say goodbye to your family," the captain said to Linkle. "Pack whatever you need. Then you'll be off to the castle."

…

And sure enough, the following morning, Linkle arrived at Hyrule Castle and was moved into the barracks. She smiled at her small, dusty cot, which now had her grandmother's compass hanging above it.

"Linkle!" a familiar voice called. Linkle turned just in time to see Purah tackle her with a hug. "I can't believe it's really you! Oh my goddess, you're so tall!"

"Purah, I'm so glad to see you! The village has been sooooo boring since you left."

"Oh, I'm sure," she said with a chuckle as she released Linkle from the hug. "I hope Jagan hasn't been too much of a pain."

Linkle laughed. "I can handle him. He's here, too, actually."

"Oh? That… kind of sucks, actually." Linkle laughed again. "Hey, do you have some free time? I can show you around!"

"Um, yes, I do! Training doesn't start until tomorrow."

"Great! Come on!"

…

"…and this is the training ground," Purah finished her tour. "I guess you've probably already seen it, though."

"Who's that?" Linkle asked, pointing to the center of the grounds.

"Oh, that's, um…" Purah swallowed hard, scratching her ear nervously. "That's Link. He's the princess's personal guard now."

"Oh." Linkle stared at him, feeling her heart shatter into a thousand pieces thanks to his existence. "So that sword…"

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Linkle insisted, forcing herself to smile to back up the lie. "I might not be the first female hero of legend, but I'm still the first female Knight of Hyrule, right?"

"Right," Purah said, smiling back. "That's a huge accomplishment. Listen, I've got to get back to the rest of the Sheikah. But I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay." Linkle watched as Purah hurried off, then turned back to watch Link some more. For a moment, she could've sworn he made eye contact with her, and in that moment she sensed a number of things about him – but mainly, the immense fear and stress that she suddenly realized he must be feeling. Being the hero had been a dream of hers for her whole life. She had never considered it as anything but a dream, but looking at Link now, she realized just what a heavy weight it must be.

…

Linkle grimaced as she returned to the barracks. Not only were they now full of her fellow soldiers, but most of them had also apparently decided to forgo tunics. "Hey, look. It's the little lady," one of them shouted tauntingly. "Catch any butterflies while you were out there?"

Linkle pushed past him, forcing herself not to react as she made her way to her cot. Apparently, though, this wasn't good enough for the other soldiers. "Oh, is it that time of month? Watch out, gentlemen, the little lady's not feeling too good."

"I sure hope these barracks aren't too dirty for you, little lady. Might be bad for your skin."

"Hey, little lady, need some help learning to handle a sword? I got one you can practice on."

Eventually, it was too much. "My name's Linkle," she hissed. "And for goddess's sake, put some tunics on. You're all disgusting." Unfortunately, her retorts were met with whoops and wolf whistles.

"I like a fiery woman," one of the soldiers said, making eyes at her. She sighed and turned back to her cot, immediately noticing something amiss.

"Where is my compass?" she bellowed. Some snickers were her only response, so she sighed again, knelt down to pick up her crossbow, and stood up on the cot. "Let me say it again. Where _the hades_ is my compass?"

"Yeah, we sure wouldn't want you to get lost on your way to the training grounds tomorrow," one of the soldiers teased. His laughter was cut off when he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder. "Oh my goddess, she shot me! She's insane!" he shrieked through the pain.

"Oh, calm down, crybaby," Linkle said, putting her crossbow down. "It's not going to kill you. Now, the compass?" It was soon back in her hands.

…

"You can't shoot other knights," the captain growled.

"They shouldn't steal my things," Linkle retorted.

The captain sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Look, little lady, I'm taking a big chance on you. You're on thin ice as is. So don't make it any harder on yourself than it already is."

"What about all your men?" She paused. "No, that's too good for them. They're whiny little boys. At best."

"What about them?"

"They're bullying me because they think they can get away with it. You won't let me stop them. How are you going to stop them?"

The captain laughed. "Bullying you, huh? Poor little lady got her feelings hurt?" He patted her on the head, ignoring her scowl. "Look, this is the real world. If you want everyone to be nice to you, you're better off back with the Cuccos, got it?"

Linkle considering firing back, but realized it was pointless. "Fine."

…

She endured some time of these and various other forms of harassment, finding new ways to punish her torturers whenever she could, but was overall quite happy in her position. She excelled in her training, despite being unable to wield a sword, and was quickly given different assignments throughout the kingdom.

It was a seemingly ordinary assignment that had her, alongside a few other knights, who had largely been ignoring her, among the mountains that bordered Kakariko Village to the west, just south of the Lanayru Wetlands. An abnormally high amount of monsters had been spotted, so the inhabitants of the village, fearing an attack, had requested assistance from the knights.

"Hey, guys," Linkle called. "There's another few Bokoblins on horseback over here." The other knights either didn't hear her or, more likely, were ignoring her. "I guess I'll just handle them alone," she muttered, gripping her crossbow. As she took aim, she was interrupted by a cry of, "LINKLE!"

"Jagan?" she questioned, turning to see him, a couple of other knights, and a rather large group of villagers approaching. The other knights with Linkle heard the commotion and moved over, while the Bokoblins, sensing they were outnumbered, retreated. "What's going on?"

"The Calamity," Jagan said breathlessly. Just about this time, the ground began to shake. Linkle looked up and saw the dark, reddish black cloud hovering over Hyrule Castle.

"Hylia help us," she whispered. "And the Guardians?"

"It's unbelievable," Jagan continued. "The Calamity, he took control of them. They went haywire. The Divine Beasts, too. They killed… they wiped out everyone. Mabe Village is gone." Linkle felt her stomach lurch. "They're coming behind us. Our swords can't even scratch them. Linkle, it's hopeless. We lost. The Calamity, it… it won."

A million different emotions were rushing through Linkle's head. "No, not yet. The villagers have to… hide, somewhere. Kakariko Village. We have to protect it…"

"We can't fight the Guardians!" another knight cried.

"Their eyes are weaker than their shells," Linkle said. "Remember? Link destroyed one on Death Mountain and saved the princess. My crossbow bolts… might be enough to hold them back."

"You're going to fight them all alone?" Jagan questioned, dumbfounded.

Linkle ignored him. "You have to get the villagers into Kakariko Village. Go!" The other knights quickly moved into action, herding the villagers up the mountainside, but Jagan hung back.

"Linkle, you're going to die if you try this."

"Go, damn you!" Linkle bellowed. Jagan gave her one last glance before dashing away.

Linkle gripped her crossbow as she heard the Guardians approaching. She had a limited amount of bolts, so she knew she'd have to have flawless aim.

As soon as the first Guardian came into sight, she released a bolt at it. It flew straight into its eye, causing the Guardian to stumble and randomly fire a laser at another Guardian. Linkle grinned as she realized her plan just might work.

It was a fierce battle as the Guardians quickly realized who their assailant was and began firing directly upon her. She was able to dodge most of the lasers, but a few grazed her, tearing her clothes and leaving her with burns covering mostly her arms and legs. However, she landed more hits upon the clumsily large Guardians, who did as much damage to each other as she did, particularly when they exploded upon destruction.

Finally, only one Guardian remained. Linkle was quickly growing tired from her injuries as she sluggishly aimed her last bolt. As she moved to fire, her eyes suddenly went wide and she gasped. The Guardian had nailed her in the stomach. With the last of her strength, she released the bolt, which flew straight into the Guardian's eye. The Guardian's head began to spin rapidly before it exploded in glorious blue – but Linkle did not see this as her body collapsed and began to tumble down the side of the mountain.

She landed in a mud puddle, staring up at the sky, which was quickly darkening with smoke from the other Guardians throughout the kingdom creating more chaos. Despite this, however, Kakariko Village was – at least for the time being – safe, and Linkle smiled knowing this. She weakly reached for the compass hanging from her chest, gripping it as she closed her eyes.

Her name was not repeated in legends. In fact, few of the people who knew her or of her heroism survived the age of burning fields. Those who did told stories of an angel, or perhaps an embodiment of the Goddess Hylia, who wiped out all of the Guardians in a single blow. None knew the truth – that it was a simple girl from a forgotten village in Central Hyrule who couldn't wield a sword but was a master of the crossbow, who had dreamed of being a hero and faced much strife during the fifteen far-too-short years she lived.

But she died content, knowing deep in her heart that she had died a hero's death, despite what the others had said. The people of Kakariko Village were safe, and for her, that was enough.


End file.
